Storm Events Database
- Data Access
- Search
- Bulk Data Download (CSV)
- Storm Data Publication
- Documentation
- Database Details
- Version History
- Storm Data FAQ
- NOAA's NWS Documentation
- Tornado EF Scale
- External Resources
- NOAA's SPC Reports
- NOAA's SPC WCM Page
- NOAA's NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit
- NOAA's Tsunami Database
- ESRI/FEMA Civil Air Patrol Images
- SHELDUS
- USDA Cause of Loss Data
Storm Events Database
Event Details:
| Event | Tornado |
| -- Scale | EF1 |
| -- Length | 1.89 Miles |
| -- Width | 50 Yards |
| State | MINNESOTA |
| County/Area | SIBLEY |
| WFO | MPX |
| Report Source | Storm Chaser |
| NCEI Data Source | CSV |
| Begin Date | 2020-07-25 17:31 CST-6 |
| Begin Location | 3NNW GAYLORD |
| Begin Lat/Lon | 44.5851/-94.2473 |
| End Date | 2020-07-25 17:38 CST-6 |
| End Location | 4S NEW AUBURN |
| End Lat/Lon | 44.6115/-94.2376 |
| Deaths Direct/Indirect | 0/0 (fatality details below, when available...) |
| Injuries Direct/Indirect | 0/0 |
| Property Damage | 0.00K |
| Crop Damage | 0.00K |
| Episode Narrative | A very anomalous moist atmosphere was in place for this flash flood event to develop. Precipitable water values (PWATs) were over 2 inches across southern Minnesota which is well over climatological normals. The 2.25 inches of precipitable water tallied from the 7 PM weather balloon launch at Chanhassen was just below record record levels for the day and was above the 95th percentile for this time of year. There were very subtle outflow boundaries during the afternoon from earlier thunderstorms in southern Minnesota. There was enough surface boundary interaction to develop a few funnel clouds where the thunderstorms formed. There were even two tornado touchdowns near Gaylord and a funnel cloud near Lafayette. The main event was the flash flood event where storms formed Saturday afternoon between Redwood Falls, and the Twin Cities metro area. There were several waves of thunderstorms Saturday evening that propagated east-southeast across far southern Minnesota. The first area was concentrated between Redwood Falls and Henderson, Minnesota. This areas held together for nearly 4 hours before shifting slightly to the southeast toward the Minnesota River. Between 9 PM and 1 AM LST, the heaviest precipitation axis shifted along the Minnesota River Valley from Granite Falls, southeast to New Ulm, Mankato and then toward Waseca. After 1 AM LST, a much broader area of showers and thunderstorms started to develop across the rest of southern and western Minnesota. However, there still remained several hours of moderate to heavy rainfall in the same areas that received the heavier rainfall Saturday evening. Based on MRMS-FLASH (Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor) (Flooded Locations and Simulated Hydrographs), excessive rainfall rates, and training over the same locations for a long period of time, the first concentrated area of flash flooding occurred over Sibley County where the recurrence interval was over 200 years for the 3, 6, and 12 hour periods. By midnight, this area of 200 year recurrence interval moved westward into southeastern Renville County. Between midnight and 4 AM LST, this area of 200 year recurrence interval moved east-southeast and oriented from Redwood Falls, southeast along the Minnesota River Valley, east/southeast toward Waseca. The heaviest rainfall and the hardest hit areas in terms of rainfall totals were over southeast Renville, southern Sibley, Nicollet, southwest Le Sueur, northern Blue Earth, and a part of northwest Waseca Counties. The highest known total for this storm came from a trained observer near Winthrop in Sibley County where they measured 11.50 inches. Other high totals in that area included 10.70 inches near Lafayette and 9.15 inches in Gibbon. The state climate office categorized the heavy rainfall event in south central Minnesota as a mega-rain. Their criteria for a mega-rain is six inches of rain or more over an area of roughly 1000 square miles. This was the first mega-rain event in Minnesota since 2016. |
| Event Narrative | Large branches were lofted when the tornado went through a line of trees, but otherwise the tornado moved across corn and bean fields. The tornado was captured on video by a storm chaser and a local resident. |
Event Map:
Note: The tornado track is approximate based on the beginning (B) and ending (E) locations. The actual tornado path may differ from a straight line.
All events for this episode:
| Location | County/Zone | St. | Date | Time | T.Z. | Type | Mag | Dth | Inj | PrD | CrD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals: | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |||||||
| WATERVILLE | LE SUEUR CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 06:00 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| ST PETER | NICOLLET CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 06:30 | CST-6 | Heavy Rain | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| GAYLORD | SIBLEY CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 17:31 | CST-6 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| GAYLORD | SIBLEY CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 17:37 | CST-6 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| WINTHROP | SIBLEY CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 18:29 | CST-6 | Funnel Cloud | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| LAFAYETTE | NICOLLET CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 18:30 | CST-6 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| GIBBON | SIBLEY CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 21:00 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| FRANKLIN | RENVILLE CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 21:30 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| KASOTA | LE SUEUR CO. | MN | 07/25/2020 | 22:30 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| NORTH MANKATO | NICOLLET CO. | MN | 07/26/2020 | 01:45 | CST-6 | Flash Flood | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K | |
| Totals: | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
